Is there any such thing as a poor era?

Of course there is. Assuming even distribution of talent in any period in time is silly. That will never be the case. Any snapshot of history you take at random is going to have some much stronger and/or weaker divisions or talent pool overall - than any other.

 

Other than Louis at times, I haven't seen where those guys used their jabs as effectively as modern fighters on a regular basis.

Yeah, there's a real sea change in how people jab by the time you get into the 1980s. Even guys who aren't thought of as particularly skilled or tactical use their jabs to great effect.

 

I think thee are subtle stylistic differences in each generation inspired by culture and the stars of the day.

But boxing is a very simple act. Two guys fighting with their fists. ATGs transcend stylistic differences across generations.

Fighters like Corbett, Tunney, and Ali who can move in, land a punch, and move back will never by handicapped stylistically. No matter what kind of tricks you can pull, they'll tag you.

 

But you also said Baer and Levinsky don't throw jabs. Then we counted them. And they throw as many as modern fighters.

 

I don't recall... what did we count? The only jab convo I remember having with you was about the triple jab that you thought you saw Lee Savold throw at Rocky Marciano.

 

Corbett couldn't even handle all of the rudimentary tricks that people of his own generation threw at him, apparently. What makes you think that he would handle a (real) triple jab? Where do you guys come up with this mythology?

 

I doubt that any heavyweight of the 90s could have shared a ring with Charles, if they had been the same size!

 

Actually, I do remember this now vaguely. I didn't count anything but I remember that they jabbed way more than I expected (even if a bunch of them seemed like pawing or pushing). Did either of them fight like that on a regular basis?

 

We counted the punches.

And Savold threw 3 jabs. Thousands of people saw that clip, you and Seamus the only ones who can't see 3 jabs.

You have trouble seeing punches in old fight. And you also think old fighters are worse. Coincidence?

 

Every fight is like that. It was nothing unique.

Old footage makes it hard to see the power that jabs do. A hard jab is not a recent invention.

 

It was an extremely weak, ineffective double jab, followed by another (extremely ill-advised) separate jab that was just as terrible. But I'm just giving you a hard time because it was silly to base the title of your thread ("when you try tripling the jab on Marciano") on that sequence.

 

Cool story. But what about the jabbing technique I asked you about?

 

What do you mean by "every fight"? Which old fights exactly are you saying had such heavy usage of (sometimes stiff) jabs?

 

Makes sense if you're equally as harsh a critic if a modern fighter did the same thing. Like if you consider most of Klitschkos punches vs. Fury to be extremely weak and ineffective, then ok.


Well, when people say "A triple jab would befuddle Marciano." And I disagree. Then I watch footage, and see someone completely failing with it, it's relevant to post.